G.i. Joe X Transformers Soundwave Thunder Machine
Inner box
Zartan is a master of disguise. Able to quickly blend into his surroundings thanks to his body’s unique chemistry, as well as copy the looks of anyone he sees, Zartan can easily sneak in anywhere to carry out Cobra’s missions without anyone ever realizing he was there.
He comes with his backpack, a pistol and “disguise”.
Is that supposed to be shipwreck? lol.
In the vintage figure, the toy had the ability to change color when exposed to heat. I think that has been dropped for this re-release.
Zarana is Zartan’s sister, like her brother she is adept at disguises and often works as a spy in order to infiltrate the enemy and gain intel for the Dreadnoks to sell to Cobra.
Zarana seems to be sporting an all-new headsculpt? I don’t think her teeth showed in the vintage figure. She does come with her original gear though, albeit in different colors for her backpack (it used to be red). Her outfit is also done with a lighter shade of pink compared to the darker pink of the vintage figure.
Like Zartan, the original Zarana featured color change plastic. Sadly, same as Zartan in this set, that particular gimmick has also been dropped.
Soundwave
As the Decepticon’s chief communications officer and spymaster, Soundwave is one of higher-ranking Decepticons and is eternally loyal to Megatron. Carrying his own legion of cassette warriors and spies inside his chest, Soundwave is a force to be reckoned with when faced in combat.
Soundwave stands roughly 10 inches tall.
The antenna is a bit awkward to have just exposed like that. I wish they added a hinge so it can fold up or something to make it less silly to see in robot mode.
When transforming the Thunder Machine, these front grills will require some parts-forming into parts of Soundwave’s legs.
Soundwave comes with this all-new huge Bowie knife.
The knife can be pegged into these slits on the side of his leg for storage.
Instead of his usual Sonic Cannon/ shoulder Rocket Launcher, Soundwave now uses the Thunder Machine’s turbine engine as a cannon in robot mode.
Likewise, instead of his traditional Concussion Blaster weapon, Soundwave uses the Thunder Machine’s dual synchronized “Penetrator” gatling guns when in robot mode.
The chaingun doesn’t have a center grip for the robot mode, so it can look a bit off-center when placed in his hand. Particularly when you look at it from certain angles.
The chaingun still has its “rolling” gimmick similar to the vintage Thunder Machine, “feeding” the belt allows the cannons to rotate.
The “roof” of the vehicle mode has a platform that can be folded out to serve as a stepping point for the Dreadnoks, complete with foot-pegs.
The Dreadnoks can “peek” through the windshield in robot mode.
When you load up the Dreadnoks, you can also place the chaingun on Soundwave’s shoulders so each Dreadnok has a weapon to use.
Pressing the button on Soundwave’s chest reveals Ravage.
Ravage
Ravage is one of Soundwave’s cassette minions. Able to blend into the dark and sneak quietly past sentries, Ravage is one of the top spies in the Decepticon ranks.
The set provides a leash and collar for Ravage so that the Dreadnoks can control him. Ravage here is a blue redeco of the Masterpiece version, done in colors meant to be his original animation model before they changed it to black in the final draft of the cartoon.
Thunder Machine
Created by the Dreadnok Thrasher in order to impress Zartan enough to allow him join the Dreadnok crew, the Thunder Machine serves as the Dreadnok’s heavy forward strike vehicle. Made from parts cobbled together from various junkyards by Thrasher, this heavily-armored patchwork monstrosity features dual synchronized “Penetrator” gatling guns, the vehicle’s movement powered by a “knock-dead” 21K thrust turbojet engine from an abandoned airplane, all wrapped in carbon/graphite armor plating.
At first glance, I thought the headlamps were clear blue parts. Turns out they’re just painted. Still an improvement over the original, which were just stickers.
The front grill is made with much thicker plastic now. It looks terrible compared to the original toy, IMHO.
Stepboards with foot pegs for figures.
The roof of the vehicle has been redone completely. In the original toy, it was just a simple block of plastic with no sculpting and the lights were all just stickers back then (the Thunder Machine was one of the few Joe vehicles I had as a kid).
The dashboard and steering wheel are the same as the vintage toy’s.
Rear tow hook
“Knock-dead” 21K thrust turbojet engine
The tires are still made from some sort of rubbery PVC. Obviously, the steering gimmick for the front axel is no longer present due to the new transformation design. The same goes for the suspension for the vehicle mode. It’s no longer present.
You can still mount Soundwave’s knife into the slit on the side of the vehicle.
If you like, you can have Ravage sit inside and “drive” the Thunder Machine, just to confuse the Joes. Lol…
Overall, a pretty good release. The joints aren’t as floppy as they were on Megatron or Bumblebee, thankfully. Transformation is pretty decent and Soundwave looks pretty good in both modes. The Thunder Machine is a nice representation of the vintage toy and a great way to get the vehicle for your classic or Modern Era 3.75″ Dreadnoks, in case you don’t have it in your collection. The inclusion of Masterpiece Ravage is also a nice bonus for this set.
I was not able to get this last year due to the crazy deluge of items from both Hasbro and Bandai. It has become somewhat difficult to get this in my neck of the woods after Amazon no longer carried it. I was lucky to be able to grab one from the Falcon’s Hangar during a recent trip to Singapore this late in the game.
Gold
